


a chance

by ebonynightwriter



Series: Waava Week 2014 [3]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Beginnings Era, Canon Universe, Comfort, Eve of battle, F/M, Gen, One-Shot, Tension, Waava Week 2014, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:33:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27069430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebonynightwriter/pseuds/ebonynightwriter
Summary: Vaatu was stronger than he’d been in twenty millennia. It was obvious what the outcome of their battle would be.
Relationships: Raava & Wan (Avatar), Waava, Waava (Platonic)
Series: Waava Week 2014 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1975627
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	a chance

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** Posting this in October 2020, this was originally published in October of 2014 on tumblr ([original post](https://ebonynightwriter.tumblr.com/post/100366438252)) for that year's Waava Week. You can find the other posts of mine for that year's prompts (including some gifsets) [here](https://ebonynightwriter.tumblr.com/tagged/mine:%20waava%20week%202014/chrono). This is set mostly with the same events as canon, with the only real difference being Raava and Vaatu have taken human forms during their long time of fighting each other.
> 
> -.-
> 
>  **[waava week 2014 // day 7](https://ebonynightwriter.tumblr.com/tagged/mine:%20waava%20week%202014/chrono)** · the only way
> 
> -.-

The land surrounding the Southern Portal is barren, rough terrain that passes between the corners of her vision, shaking and tumbling with each step Mula took. Wan’s hand rest against the cat-deer’s neck, and she can feel his forearms pressing against her sides, keeping them both secure as they get closer and closer to the portal. Normally, she would have taken her usual spot behind him, but their recent encounter with the humans and forest spirits had taken its toll as she and Wan combined their energies like never before. Now she barely had the strength to stand, let alone hold onto Mula or Wan during the remainder of their travels.

She raises her head, and it feels like lifting a rock.

“We’re almost there,” she says, looking to the small pillar of light in the distance. The tip of Wan’s goatee brushes against the back of her hair, and she can feel his arms tighten around her as he leans forward.

“I see it,” he says. He leans to one side and pats Mula twice on the neck. The cat-deer slows immediately, and Wan swings a leg over their supplies, landing on the ground with a heavy bounce to his step.

“What are you doing?” she asks as he goes to the supplies and spreads one of the blankets on the ground.

“We’re not going to stand a chance against Vaatu if both of us are falling over,” he says, smoothing out the edges. “We should rest for a while.”

Raava shakes her head as Wan continues to set up camp. While it was true she was close to collapsing, her weariness was not the result of little sleep. She was a spirit, despite her current appearance, and did not have the same kind of regeneration habits creatures of the material world were required to partake in. Her state was from the draining of light and peace as darkness covered the worlds, the after effects of Vaatu’s growing influence. No kind of “rest” could help her regain the strength she needed to defeat Vaatu. All she could do was wait for the time of Harmonic Convergence to come, and hope for the best.

And she was, of course, about to tell Wan all of this as he approached to drag her off of Mula. But as he looked at her, she saw the strained, tired appearance of his face. He did have to stay awake as they travelled over the course of days to reach this place, and it was apparent by the sagging bags beneath his eyes that he was just as close to collapsing as her. If he was going to help her battle Vaatu, then he would need as much rest as he could get. So she says nothing as he carries her from Mula’s back to the ground and the cat-deer quickly lays behind her, allowing her back to rest against it as Wan sparks a collection of kindling brought from the forest to keep them warm.

Once the fire was bright and healthy, he pulls a blanket from their pack and spreads it over his lower body. Propping his chin up, he looks across the vast land before them to view the portal, miles away from them.

“Do you think there’s any chance of Vaatu attacking us here?” he asks. “Before Harmonic Convergence?”

“The ancient laws forbade such acts,” she explains. “But even if he were to go against them, he would not be able to win. The only time one of us is able to be completely destroyed is during Harmonic Convergence, and there is still time before it occurs.”

“That’s good to know,” Wan says, laying on his back. “I don’t think I’d be able to sleep very well if he could.”

“I will be able to feel him coming if he does,” she says. “You may rest easy.”

A light smile spreads on his face as he tilts it at her.

“You too,” he says.

.

.

.

Wan sleeps, and Raava observes her hand. Turning it over before her face, flexing its joints and waving it gently through the air. The blue markings that ran along her body were as bright as ever, but the glow was fading.

Mula’s breath warms her side as she lowers the hand, and Raava looks to her and to Wan. The only two creatures she could consider “friends” in her long existence. And in the hours to come, they would join her in the battle to decide the fate of the world. A fate, she was sure, had been decided the moment Wan had split her and Vaatu apart. She could feel corruption and chaos slowly spreading throughout the world, and Vaatu’s presence beyond the portal was a constant prick in the center of her mind. He was waiting for the chance to destroy her for good, and as the fire sends a burst of sparks into the air, she can’t help but feel all she did in the past mortal year was all for naught.

Vaatu was stronger than he’d been in twenty millennia. It was obvious what the outcome of their battle would be.

Sweeping the blanket over her aside, she slowly stands on the ground and drags her feet toward the portal.

Then, she hears a meow behind her.

“Go back to sleep, Mula,” she says, but the cat-deer does not listen. She walks to Raava and begins nuzzling her snout into her shoulder, purring gently as the spirit smooths her fur. Raava stops, and pushes Mula away with a light touch, but it only causes her to meow louder. And before she can shush the animal, a low groan comes from across the fire.

“Raava?” Wan asks as he sits himself up and rubs the sleep from his eyes. “What are you doing? Is it time to go?”

She keeps her hands on Mula’s face, and looks at the ground.

“No,” she replies. “There’s still time. Go back to sleep.”

Wan’s brow raises, and he stands.

“Not until you tell me what you were doing.”

“It does not matter.”

Wan leans to one side, crossing his arms. Mula nudges into her again and Raava sighs, lowering her arms from the beasts’ fur.

He doesn’t believe her – there was no point in hiding it.

“I’m leaving,” she says, looking him straight in the eyes. She can tell her words take him by surprise, because he blinks, looking at her like she’d sprouted another limb.

Which, for her, was completely possible.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to the portal,” she says. “I have to face Vaatu alone.”

“ _What?_ ” Wan gasps, taking a few steps at her. “That’s ridiculous! After everything we’ve been through, you pick _now_ to go out on your own? No way!”

“Vaatu’s power has grown stronger than I could have anticipated,” she says. “There’s no point in having us both die right away. If you and Mula go now, you could still have a chance to find someplace safe to hide. It’s the only way–”

Raava turns away from him, and take a step toward the portal. Then another, and another. It’s hard, and she can hear Wan follow her with every foot she goes.

“Please,” she says, keeping her eyes on the portal. “Let me do this.”

Then, somehow, she trips.

He catches her, of course, holding her steady against his arms. Mula approaches them as he presses his hand into her shoulder, keeping her straight as energy drains from her limbs. She keeps her eyes cast down, but that doesn’t keep him from putting his hand beneath her chin to lift them to his.

“I’m not running,” he says. “Not after everything we’ve been through – after everything _I’ve_ done. I started this mess in the first place, and I’m not going to go hide away before we even have a chance to show Vaatu what we’re made of. We have a chance to win this, Raava, but the only way to win is together.”

If she could, she’d laugh all the way to the portal. Leave it to her to be stuck with the most stubborn, optimistic human in the world for a partner.

Sometimes, she thinks, she’ll never understand him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


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